Path of God's Bondsmen: From Origin to Return (Persian Heritage Series Number 35)

Delmar, NY: Caravan Books, 1982. First English Language Edition. 8vo. 537 pp. Blue cloth with silver lettering in fine, as new condition. Najm al-D n D ya, meaning "wetnurse" was a 13th-century Persian Sufi from Khwarezmia. D ya followed the Sufi order, Kubrawiyya, established by one of his greatest influences, Najm al-D n Kubr and put his teachings into a Persian work called by the Arabic title "Mir d al- ib d min al-mabda il l-ma d", which is shortly known as "Mer d al- eb d", and has gained prominence as a major reference text on Sufism and Islamic theology." Mer d al- eb "d was translated by Hamid Algar into English as "The Path of God's Bondsmen: From Origin to Return". The literary importance of the Mer d is considerable: it ranks among the masterpieces of Persian literature, and certain sections - particularly the narrative of the creation and appointment of Adam - bear comparison with the best prose written in Persian. D ya's choice of illustrative verses- both those of his own composition and those of his predecessors -is judicious, and makes of his work an incidental anthology of Sufi poetry, particularly quatrains.